Chapter 25

XXXIII. Before they had finished rebuilding the city they became involved in a war, for the Aequians, Volscians, and Latins combined their forces and invaded the country, while the Etruscans besieged Sutrium, a city in alliance with Rome. The tribunes in command of the Roman forces encamped near the Marcian heights, and were there besieged by the Latins and in danger of having their camp taken. They sent to Rome for assistance, and the Romans appointed Camillus dictator for the third time. About this war there are two different accounts, of which I will mention the legendary one first:--It is said that the Latins, either merely as a pretext, or really wishing to amalgamate the two races as before, sent a demand to Rome for free unmarried women to be delivered up for them to marry. As the Romans were at their wits' ends what to do, because they feared to go to war, being scarcely recovered from their late mishap, while they suspected that the women would be used as hostages if they gave them up, and that the proposal of intermarriage was merely a feint, a slave girl named Tutula, or, as some say, Philotis, advised the magistrates to send her and the best-looking of the female slaves, dressed like brides of noble birth, and that she would manage the rest. The magistrates approved of her proposal, chose such girls as she thought suitable, and having dressed them in fine clothes and jewellery, handed them over to the Latins, who were encamped at no great distance from the city. At night the girls stole the daggers of the enemies, and Tutula or Philotis climbed up a wild fig-tree, stretched out her cloak behind her, and raised a torch as a signal, which had been agreed upon between her and the magistrates, though no other citizen knew of it. Wherefore, the soldiers rushed out of the gates with a great clamour and disturbance, calling to one another and scarcely able to keep their ranks as their chiefs hurried them along. When they reached the enemy's camp, they found them asleep and not expecting an attack, so that they took their camp and slew most of them. This took place on the nones of the month Quintilis, now called July, and the festival which then takes place is in memory of the events of that day. First they march out of the gates in a mass, calling out the common names of the country, such as Caius, Marcus, or Lucius, in imitation of their hurried calling for each other on that occasion. Next, female slaves splendidly dressed walk round laughing and romping with all whom they meet. These girls also perform a sort of fight among themselves, like those who on that day took their share in the fight with the Latins: and afterwards they sit down to a feast, under the shade of fig-tree boughs. They call this day the _nonae caprotinae_, probably from the wild fig-tree from which the slave girl waved the torch; for in Latin a wild fig-tree is called _caprificus_. Others say that most of these things were said and done when Romulus disappeared, for on this very day he was snatched away, outside the city gates, in a sudden storm and darkness, or as some think during an eclipse of the sun: and they say that the day is called _nonae caprotiae_ from the place, because Romulus was carried off while holding a meeting of the entire people at the place called the Goat's Marsh, as is written in his life.

XXXIV. The other story is approved by most writers, who relate it as follows:--Camillus, after being appointed dictator for the third time, and learning that the army under the command of the military tribunes was being besieged by the Latins and Volscians, was compelled to arm even those citizens who were past the age for service in the field. He marched by a long circuit to the Marcian heights unnoticed by the enemy, and established his army behind them. By lighting fires he announced his arrival to the Romans in the camp, who took courage, and began to meditate sallying out of their camp and attacking the enemy. But the Latins and Volscians kept close within the rampart of their camp, which they fortified with many additional palisades, on all sides, for they now were between two hostile armies, and intended to await succour from home, while they also expected a force from Etruria to come to their aid. Camillus, perceiving this, and fearing that he might be surrounded in his turn, vigorously used his opportunity. The rampart of the allies was formed of wood, and as a strong wind blew down from the mountains at daybreak, he prepared combustibles, and early in the morning got his forces under arms. One division he sent to attack the enemy's camp with darts, and missile weapons, and loud shouts, while he himself, with those who were in charge of the fire, waited for his opportunity on that side towards which the wind usually blew. When the other troops were engaged with the enemy, the sun rose, and a strong wind got up. At this Camillus gave the signal for attack, and at once enveloped the palisades with lighted missiles. As the flames quickly spread in the thick wooden palisades, the Latins, finding their camp girt with flames, were driven into a small compass, and finally obliged to sally out of their entrenchments, outside of which the Romans stood ready to receive them. Few of those who broke out escaped, while all who remained in the camp perished in the flames, until the Romans extinguished them and began to plunder.

XXXV. After this exploit, Camillus left his son Lucius in charge of the camp, to guard the prisoners and the booty, and himself invaded the enemy's country. He took the capital of the Aequi, reduced the Volsci to subjection, and marched at once upon Sutrium to relieve that city, whose inhabitants had not heard of his successes, but were still besieged by the Etruscans. The Sutrians had just surrendered, and had been turned out of their city by the enemy with nothing but the clothes they had on. Camillus met them on the road with their wives and children, weeping over their misfortune. He was greatly moved at so piteous a sight, and, perceiving that the Romans were touched by the despairing entreaties of the people of Sutrium, who clung to them with tears in their eyes, determined that he would at once avenge their wrongs, and march upon Sutrium that very day, arguing that men who were merry with success, having just captured a wealthy city, with no enemy either left within its walls or expected from without, would be found in careless disorder. In this conjecture he was right; for he not only marched through the country, but even obtained possession of the walls and gates unperceived by the enemy, who had posted no guards, but were carousing in the various private houses. Indeed when they learned that the Romans were in possession of the town, they were in such a condition of intoxication that most of them could not even attempt to escape, but shamefully waited in the houses where they were until they were either killed or taken prisoners. Thus was the city of Sutrium twice taken in one day, and thus did the victors lose their prize, and the dispossessed inhabitants regain their homes by Camillus's means.

XXXVI. The triumph which he enjoyed after these campaigns added to his popularity and glory as much as either of the former; for even those who disliked him most, and who had insisted that all his successes were due to good fortune more than to skill, were now forced to admit the brilliancy of his generalship, and to give his genius its due. The chief of his enemies and detractors was Marcus Manlius, he who had been the first man to fling the Gauls down the cliff in the night attack on the Capitol, and who in remembrance of this was surnamed Capitolinus. This man, endeavouring to make himself the first man in Rome, and not being able to surpass the fame of Camillus by fair means, made the accusation against him usual in such cases, that he was intending to make himself king. This falsehood he repeated in his addresses to the people, with whom he was making himself popular, especially with those who were in debt; some of whom he defended, and assisted in coming to terms with their creditors, while others he forcibly rescued from the officers of the law, so that many needy persons were attracted to him, and became the terror of all respectable citizens by their riotous disturbances in the Forum. To put an end to these disorders, Quintus Capitolinus was created dictator, and he put Manlius in prison; but the people upon this went into mourning, a thing only done on the occasion of some great public disaster, and the Senate, terrified at this, ordered Manlius to be acquitted. Manlius was not improved by his captivity, but was more turbulent and disorderly in his conduct than he had been before. Camillus was now again elected military tribune, and Manlius was impeached: but the place in which he was tried told greatly against his accusers. For the very spot on the Capitol on which Manlius fought with the Gauls on that night was visible from the Forum, and the sight of it raised a strong feeling in his favour; while he himself pointed to it, and, with tears in his eyes, reminded them of how he had fought for them, so that his judges were at their wits' end, and often adjourned the trial, for they could not acquit him of a crime which was clearly proved against him, and yet they could not bring themselves to let the law take its course, when the scene before them reminded them constantly of his great exploit. Camillus, perceiving this, removed the court to the Petelian Grove outside the city gates, where, as the Capitol was not visible, the prosecutor was able to press home his charges against Manlius, while the judges were not prevented from punishing him for his recent crimes by their remembrance of what he had done in former times. He was convicted, led to the Capitol, and thrown down the cliff, which thus witnessed both the most glorious deed of his life, and his miserable end. The Romans destroyed his house, on the site of which they built the Temple of Juno Moneta, and decreed that for the future no patrician might dwell upon the Capitol.

XXXVII. Camillus, when appointed military tribune for the sixth time, begged to be excused, as he was growing old, and perhaps feared that such unbroken success and glory would call down upon him the wrath of the gods.[A] His most obvious reason for declining the appointment was the state of his health, for at this time he was sick. However, the people would not permit him to retire, but loudly urged that they did not want him to ride on horseback or fight in the ranks, but merely to advise and superintend. Thus they compelled him to accept the office, and with one of his colleagues, Lucius Furius, at once to lead an army against the enemy. He left the city and encamped near the enemy, where he wished to remain inactive, in order that, if a battle should be necessary, he might recover his health sufficiently to take part in it. But as his colleague Lucius, who longed to distinguish himself, was so eager for action that he could not be restrained, and excited the subordinate officers, Camillus, fearing that it might be supposed that he grudged younger men an opportunity of gaining laurels, agreed, sorely against his will, to allow his colleague to lead out the army and offer battle, while he with a few troops remained behind in the camp. But when he heard that Lucius had rashly engaged and that the Romans were defeated, he could not restrain himself, but leaping from his couch met them with his followers at the gate of the camp. Here he forced his way through the fugitives and attacked the pursuing force, so that those Romans whom he had passed at once turned and followed him, while those who were still outside the camp rallied round him, calling upon one another not to desert their general. The enemy's pursuit was thus checked, and on the following day Camillus marched out with his entire force, entirely defeated them, and entering their camp together with the fugitives, put most of them to the sword. After this, hearing that Satria had been captured by the Etruscans, and all the Roman colonists there put to death, he sent the greater part of his force back to Rome, reserving only the youngest and most vigorous of the soldiers, with whom he assaulted the Etruscans who held the city, and conquered them, killing many, and putting the rest to flight.

[Footnote A: The punishment of excessive and unbroken prosperity was assigned by the Greeks to the goddess Nemesis. The idea of too great a career of success exciting the anger of the gods is common throughout the whole of ancient literature. A well-known instance is the story of Polykrates of Samos, as told by Herodotus. Amasis the king of Egypt, observing the unbroken good fortune of Polykrates, advised him voluntarily to sacrifice some of his treasures. Polykrates, following his friend's advice, cast his signet-ring into the sea. But the ring was swallowed by a fish, and the fish was caught and presented to the king, who thus recovered his ring. When Amasis heard of this, he refused to ally himself with Polykrates, thinking that such good fortune presaged a terrible disaster. Polykrates was put to death shortly afterwards by the Persians, who conquered his kingdom.]

XXXVIII. By his return to Rome with great spoils, he proved that those men were right who had not feared that weakness or old age would impair the faculties of a general of daring and experience, but who had chosen him, ill and unwilling to act as he was, rather than men in the prime of life, who were eager to hold military commands. For this reason, when the people of Tusculum were reported to be in insurrection, they bade Camillus take one of the other five tribunes as his colleague, and march against them. Camillus, in spite of all that the rest of the tribunes could urge, for they all wished to be taken, chose Lucius Furius, whom no one could have supposed he would have chosen; for he it was who had been so eager to fight, against the better judgment of Camillus, and so had brought about the defeat in the late war; however, Camillus chose him rather than any other, wishing, it would appear, to conceal his misfortune and wipe out his disgrace.

The people of Tusculum cleverly repaired their fault. When Camillus marched to attack them they filled the country with men working in the fields and tending cattle just as in time of peace; the city gates were open, the boys at school, the lower classes plying various trades, and the richer citizens walking in the market-place in peaceful dress. The magistrates bustled about the city, pointing out where the Romans were to be quartered, as if the thought of treachery had never entered their minds. Camillus, though this conduct did not shake his belief in their guilt, was moved to pity by their repentance. He ordered them to go to Rome and beg the Senate to pardon them; and when they appeared, he himself used his influence to procure their forgiveness, and the admission of Tusculum to the Roman franchise. These were the most remarkable events of his sixth tribuneship.

XXXIX. After this, Licinius Stolo put himself at the head of the plebeians in their great quarrel with the Senate. They demanded that consuls should be re-established, one of whom should always be a plebeian, and that they should never both be patricians. Tribunes of the people were appointed, but the people would not suffer any election of consuls to be held. As this want of chief magistrates seemed likely to lead to still greater disorders, the Senate, much against the will of the people, appointed Camillus dictator for the fourth time. He himself did not wish for the post, for he was loth to oppose men who had been his comrades in many hard-fought campaigns, as indeed he had spent much more of his life in the camp with his soldiers than with the patrician party in political intrigues, by one of which he was now appointed, as that party hoped that if successful he would crush the power of the plebeians, while in case of failure he would be ruined. However, he made an effort to deal with the present difficulty. Knowing the day on which the tribunes intended to bring forward their law, he published a muster-roll of men for military service, and charged the people to leave the Forum and meet him on the Field of Mars, threatening those who disobeyed with a heavy fine. But when the tribunes answered his threats by vowing that they would fine him fifty thousand _drachmas_ unless he ceased his interference with the people's right of voting, he retired to his own house, and after a few days laid down his office on pretence of sickness. This he did, either because he feared a second condemnation and banishment, which would be a disgrace to an old man and one who had done such great deeds, or else because he saw that the people were too strong to be overpowered, and he did not wish to make the attempt.

The Senate appointed another dictator, but he made that very Licinius Stolo, the leader of the popular party, his master of the horse, and thus enabled him to pass a law which was especially distasteful to the patricians, for it forbade any one to possess more than five hundred _jugera_ of land. Stolo, after this success, became an important personage; but, a short time afterwards, he was convicted of possessing more land than his own law permitted, and was punished according to its provisions.

XL. There still remained the difficulty about the consular elections, the most important point at issue between the two parties, and the Senate was greatly disturbed at it, when news arrived that the Gauls, starting from the Adriatic Sea, were a second time marching in great force upon Rome. At the same time evident traces of their approach could be seen, as the country was being plundered, and such of the inhabitants as could not easily reach Rome were taking refuge in the mountains.

This terrible tidings put an end to all internal disputes. The Senate and people formed themselves into one assembly, and with one voice appointed Camillus dictator for the fifth time. He was now a very old man, being near his eightieth year; but at this pressing crisis he made none of his former excuses, but at once took the chief command and levied an army for the war. As he knew that the chief power of the Gauls lay in their swords, with which they dealt heavy blows on the heads and shoulders of their enemy, without any skill in fence, he prepared for most of his soldiers helmets made entirely of smooth iron, so that the swords would either break or glance off them, while he also had brass rims fitted to their shields, because the wood by itself could not endure a blow. He also instructed the soldiers to use long pikes, and to thrust them forward to receive the sword-cuts of the enemy.

XLI. When the Gauls were encamped on the banks of the Anio, near the city, loaded with masses of plunder, Camillus led out his troops and posted them in a glen from which many valleys branched out, so that the greater part of the force was concealed, and that which was seen appeared to be clinging in terror to the hilly ground. Camillus, wishing to confirm the enemy in this idea, would not move to prevent the country being plundered before his eyes, but palisaded his camp and remained quiet within it, until he saw that the foraging parties of the Gauls straggled in careless disorder, while those in the camp did nothing but eat and drink. Then, sending forward his light troops before daybreak to be ready to harass the Gauls and prevent their forming their ranks properly as they came out of their camp, he marched the heavy-armed men down into the plain at sunrise, a numerous and confident body, and not, as the Gauls fancied, a few disheartened men.

The very fact of his commencing the attack dashed the courage of the Gauls; next, the attacks of the light troops, before they had got into their wonted array and divided themselves into regiments, produced disorder. When at last Camillus led on the heavy-armed troops, the Gauls ran to meet them brandishing their swords, but the Romans with their pikes advanced and met them, receiving their sword-cuts on their armour, which soon made the Gaulish swords bend double, as they were made of soft iron hammered out thin, while the shields of the Gauls were pierced and weighed down by the pikes that stuck in them. They therefore dropped their own arms, and endeavoured to seize the pikes and turn them against their enemies. But the Romans, seeing them now defenceless, began to use their swords, and slew many of the first ranks, while the rest took to flight all over the flat country; for Camillus had taken care to guard the hills and rough ground, while the Gauls knew that they, in their over-confidence, had been at no pains to fortify their camp, and that the Romans could easily take it.

This battle is said to have been fought thirteen years after the capture of Rome, and in consequence of it the Romans conceived a contempt for these barbarians, whom they had before greatly dreaded, and even believed that their former victories over the Gauls were due to their being weakened by pestilence, and to fortunate circumstances, rather than to their own valour. This raised so great a terror of them, that a law was passed which relieved the priests from military service except in case of a Gaulish invasion.

XLII. This was the last of Camillus's military exploits, though during this campaign he took the city of Velitrae, which yielded to him without a battle. But his greatest political struggle was yet to come, for it was harder to deal with the people now that they were elated with victory. They insisted that the existing constitution should be annulled, and that one of the two consuls should be chosen from among them. They were opposed by the Senate, which would not permit Camillus to lay down his office, as the patricians imagined that with the help of his great power they could more easily defend their privileges. One day, however, as Camillus was sitting publicly doing business in the Forum, a viator or servant sent by the tribunes of the people bade him follow him, and even laid his hand upon him as if to arrest him. At this such a disturbance arose as had never been known before, as Camillus's party endeavoured to push the officer down from the tribunal, while the people clamoured to him to drag the dictator from his seat. Camillus himself, not knowing what to do, would not lay down his office, but called the Senate to meet. Before entering the Senate house, he turned round to the Capitol and prayed that the gods would bring affairs to a happy termination, vowing that when the present disorders were at an end he would build a Temple of Concord. After a violent debate, the Senate agreed to adopt the milder course of yielding to the popular demand, and permitting one of the two consuls to be chosen from the people. When the dictator announced this decision of the Senate to the people, they at once, as was natural, were delighted with the Senate, and escorted Camillus home with applause and shouts. On the next day they met and decreed that the Temple of Concord which Camillus had vowed should be erected on a spot facing the Forum, where these events had taken place; moreover, that the Latin games should continue for four days instead of three, and that all citizens of Rome should at once offer sacrifice and crown themselves with garlands.

In the assembly for the election of consuls, over which Camillus presided there were elected Marcus Aemilius, a patrician, and Lucius Sextius, the first plebeian ever elected consul. This was the result of Camillus's administration.